Unpleasant news for Kiev: One of his few supporters in Washington, the general who opposed the emissary Witkoff, has decided to leave his post
Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg, the US President's Special Envoy for Ukraine, attends a roundtable discussion at the Warsaw Security Forum on September 30, 2025. PHOTO: Dominika Zarzycka/SOPA Images / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia
US President Donald Trump's special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, has told aides he plans to leave the administration in Washington next January, four sources told Reuters, noting that such a departure could mean the loss of a key supporter of Kiev in the current Republican administration.
The president's special envoy is a temporary position, and such emissaries must, in theory, be confirmed by the Senate to remain in office after 360 days. Kellogg indicated that January would be a natural time for him to leave, given existing legislation, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.
Kellog's departure from the Trump administration will be bad news in Kiev. The reserve lieutenant general was seen by European diplomats, including Ukrainians, as a sympathetic figure in an administration that has at times leaned toward Moscow's view of the origins of the war in Ukraine.
The news of this move comes as Ukraine faces new difficulties on the diplomatic front.
Two sources told Reuters on Wednesday that Washington had signaled to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that Ukraine must accept a framework drawn up by the US to end the war with Russia. The plan proposes that Kiev give up territories and some weapons. The proposals, which include reducing the size of Ukraine's armed forces, would represent a major setback for Kiev.
The proposed deal was initiated by the US special envoy for peacekeeping missions, Steve Witkoff, and all information so far indicates that General Kellogg had no role in the development of the plan.
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Kellogg sometimes clashed with Witkoff
Keith Kellogg has denounced Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure more vehemently than other Trump administration officials. He has clashed at times with Witkoff, who has publicly echoed some of Russian President Vladimir Putin's arguments and has long advocated a rather unfair territorial exchange for Kiev as part of a long-term peace deal, Reuters notes.
Among Kellogg's successes is facilitating the release of dozens of political prisoners from the regime led by Aleksandr Lukashenko in exchange for a limited reduction in US sanctions on Belarus.
The White House and State Department did not respond to requests for comment.
A person familiar with Kellogg's decision said he never intended to stay long in the administration in Washington.
Trump's approach to Ukraine has varied
Although Trump has been intensely focused on ending the war in Ukraine, his approach to how to do so has varied dramatically.
In March, he briefly suspended the exchange of classified information with Ukraine, before quickly resuming it. In recent months, Trump has actually stepped up information sharing with Kiev.
And while the US president has established a new program for European allies to buy US weapons on behalf of Kiev, he has largely cut US military assistance programs that had been established by former President Joe Biden.
Trump took office insisting on an immediate truce, but dropped that demand after meeting Putin in Alaska in August. In October, he again embraced the idea of a frontline truce after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington.
The latest proposal led by Steve Witkoff — to the extent it will be accepted by other factions of the Trump administration — appears to represent another shift in the direction of appeasing Moscow.
Separately, a US delegation led by Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is currently in Kiev on an “information mission”, the US embassy in Kiev said. The head of the US Army, General Randy George, is also part of the delegation. George and Driscoll will meet with Zelenski on Thursday, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Kellogg has maintained a strong relationship with Trump, the sources said. But he was notably absent from the October meeting with Zelenskiy, which some allies attributed to infighting within the Republican administration.
It was not immediately clear who — if anyone else — would replace Kellogg. The United States has not yet appointed a Senate-confirmed ambassador to Ukraine. Career diplomat Julie Fisher was appointed to the US mission in Kiev in May – being designated as Washington's charge d'affaires.
